Friday, May 12 at 7 p.m., San Juan Island Grange Hall, Friday Harbor
— from Boyd Pratt —
Have you ever wondered how lime is made from limestone? Or gazed in wonder at the lime kilns scattered across our islands? Why, for that matter, is our State Park called Lime Kiln?
Local architectural historian Boyd C. Pratt’s new book Lime: Quarrying and Limemaking in the San Juan Islands tells all about how the carcasses of sea creatures became the building blocks of modern civilization.
Formed through eons of geologic time and sculpted by glaciers, the limestone deposits along the islands’ shore provided the essential ingredient for the block and mortar that built and rebuilt the West Coast’s major cities. Read all about the islands’ economic booms and busts, dramatic changes to the landscape, bloody murder, contentious lawsuits, and deadly shipwrecks.
At the May 12 event, Boyd will review the history and technology of limemaking in the San Juan Islands.
Refreshments are free (Except, of course, for the book, which is $9.95, cash or check only, please.)
At age 94, marooned on Orcas, where can I buy the book?
Harry Patton